How can executive customer service help you? JP Morgan Chase gobbled up Jon’s bank, Washington Mutual, and his high-yield savings account along with it. He writes that when the bank eventually changed his account over to a different type, one that came with a $20/month fee for customers who didn’t keep a $15,000 balance. Instead of rolling over and paying $240 in extra fees or taking his money to another bank, Jon tried something different: he reached out to executive customer service.

Just wanted to let you know about a recent success I had with Chase
executive customer service, after attempts through normal channels
failed.

A little background: I was a WaMu customer and opened a high-interest
online savings account back when times were good. When Chase ate WaMu
they converted the account to the closest possible thing, a “Chase
Plus Savings Account”, which has a (relatively) high interest rate,
but normally also has a high fee-avoidance requirement: $15k/month to
avoid a $20/month ding. Because the WaMu account didn’t have that, my
fee was waived.

Fast forward to this August. I had a low balance on my Chase
*checking* account, and got a fee ding for that. But this rarely
happens to me, so I called to ask for a courtesy waiver, and the
friendly telephone banker waived it. Great! However, the next day I
got mail from Chase telling me about my brand new “Money Market
Savings Account”, converted over from my Chase Plus Savings account.
The two are similar, except the Money Market account didn’t have a
minimum balance. Oh, and it also had about 1/5 the interest rate of
the Chase Plus. We’re talking nickles vs. pennies here, but in this
day and age, you take what you can get.

I was befuddled, as I never mentioned wanting to convert this account
(and after all, why would I?) So I called Chase back, and after
explaining my situation was bumped to a supervisor, who also expressed
befuddlement. She told me she’d kick it up to research and they’d call
me back. A week goes by, they don’t call back, so I try again. This
time the supervisor checks in and says “oh, research called you back
and said they can’t undo a grandfathering.” She puts me through to
some anonymous voice mail to plead my case and seems glad to be rid of
me. I explain my situation to the voice mail, knowing a search of
Consumerist’s archives is likely around the corner, but wanting to
cover my bases first.

Another week, more silence, and it’s time to act (Full disclosure: I
was kind of hoping this would happen). I quickly find the Chase
executive customer support phone number, call it up, and with little
wait am connected to a banker ninja. She hears my case and asks who
referred me to exec. cs — I don’t have a good lie ready, so I tell
them it was you, suddenly scared they’ll realize I’m not an executive!
No worries, though, the Consumerist name is gold, and after looking
things up she tells me while she can’t restore the grandfathering,
she’ll try to get at least a one year fee waiver. Not what I wanted to
hear, but I figure I may as well take what I can get and start looking
for another bank, or maybe venture a full-on EECB.

But then to my surprise I get a call today from the same exec. cs
ninja. As I suspected, there isn’t really such a thing as “can’t” in
executive land, and they in fact decided to listen to my initial call
log. They liked what they heard, and presto change my “high”-yield
savings account is restored with grandfathered waiver and all. And all
thanks to The Consumerist.

Have your own intractable issue with Chase, or another company? Here are some leads for finding your own executive customer service buddy.

Gosh, but the WAMU/Chase rep I talked to when I was closing my account after the takeover promised that they were going to grandfather in all the old account types and were going to retain all their original staff. She wouldn’t *gasp* LIE to me, would she?

Oh wait, never mind, that employee underwent an ‘involuntary separation’ from the company less than a month after the takeover.

Not sure about “no such thing as can’t,” as my request for a Credit Card interest rate deduction was declined, but they did refund a large amount of interest payments made to them, so I can’t really complain.

I was a former WaMu customer that got sucked up by Chase. I detest Chase with a passion that burns in a very deep place. However… I can do banking (including depositing checks) on my phone, and there are branches and ATMs on every friggin corner of Manhattan. So I grudgingly stay.
I miss getting my free FICO score every month on my credit card.

We actually got a better account when Chase took over for WaMu. We now get free checks for life, and free cashier’s checks. There might be other things too, as I learned about these accidentally when I needed a cashier’s check a few weeks ago.

I had this same exact thing happen when AT&T changed to Cingular and then back AT&T. The contract was with the “original” AT&T and every once and a while Cingular and then the “new” AT&T would try to change the contract. The thing is, the plan was so old that I had free incoming text messages which was far too awesome to give up. Never had to go through this much trouble to change it back to the “grandfathered” plan though.